Chapter Eight

Daphne hadn't been grounded over the summer and went for a walk. Her parents were under the impression she was going to walk around Coolsville Park, but that wasn't the case at all. Daphne walked to Velma's house. To her relief, she was home, and Daphne couldn't wait to be alone in her bedroom.

"So, what have you got to show me?" Velma asked enthusiastically.

"That the house isn't haunted," Daphne replied as she accessed her files.

Once Daphne showed the photo, Velma couldn't help but be impressed.

"Jinkies!" Velma said, stunned.

"So, I'm not imagining things?" Daphne asked, relieved. "Those are sneakers underneath the ghost,"

Velma looked at her and smiled at her relief.

"You bet they're sneakers and not any of the latest brands either," Velma said. "This guy's clearly out of touch,"

"And we were out of our minds to run away like that," Daphne replied.

The more they discussed it, the more they couldn't wait to tell the others.

XXXXX

To their surprise, the Malt Shop wasn't busy when the gang arrived, and it was easy for them to find a table. It came as no surprise that Daphne sat next to Fred. Velma and Shaggy sat opposite while Scooby-Doo was forced to stay outside.

"Velma told me you have something incredible to show us," Fred said after they sat down.

"You bet I do," Daphne replied proudly.

Daphne took out her laptop computer, placed it on the table, and got to the file that had floored Velma hours earlier. Fred and Shaggy couldn't believe what they were looking at.

"Like, we ran away from someone dressed up as a ghost?" Shaggy asked in disbelief. "But that costume is so corny,"

"We didn't think so last night," Fred admitted, embarrassed.

"Now that we know, what are we going to do about it?" Daphne asked. "Just go back in there?"

"That's exactly what we're going to do," Fred said.

The three of them looked at Fred in shock.

"Freddie, I was kidding," Daphne said, thinking her boyfriend was crazy.

"Well, I'm not," Fred said. "We should go back in there when there are no cars parked outside and see what we can find,"

"But they could have guns and kill us," Velma argued.

"If they had guns, they would have used them last night," Fred argued back. "Not come out in a costume to scare us away,"

Velma thought she would have another argument ready, but Fred shocked them all with his logic because Fred was right. Why did the perpetrator wear a costume instead of using a gun to scare them away or murder them?

"So, what do you think?" Fred asked. "Thanks to Daphne, this mystery is practically solved. Shall we go in and solve it completely?"

The three of them smiled, and Fred knew he had his answer. But Daphne had something on her mind and couldn't wait to talk to him about it.

XXXXX

An hour later, Daphne was in Fred's living room. His parents were at work, and Fred was happy to be with Daphne alone.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Fred asked.

"Actually, I don't want to talk, but there is something you need to know," Daphne replied. "I can't have sex with you until six weeks after I've given birth, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything,"

Fred couldn't help but smile.

"What did you have in mind?" Fred asked.

Daphne took a step closer and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'd like to go upstairs to your bathroom and have a shower with you," she said. "Would that be something that would interest you?"

Fred answered Daphne's question by kissing her passionately. She kissed him back quickly and broke the kiss so they could walk to the bathroom. Fred closed the bathroom door speedily and locked it. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Daphne wearing her light purple bikini. Daphne was surprised she still had it, as she thought her mother would have thrown it away.

"I want to keep the bottom half of my bikini on," Daphne said. "But you're more than welcome to take the top part off,"

Fred smiled, and Daphne lifted her arms. It didn't take long for Fred to take the top part of her bikini off, and he kissed her breasts quickly. Daphne reached down and fondled Fred's ass. He took off his clothes quickly, and they entered the shower. Once they closed the shower curtain and got the temperature right, they began to wash each other thoroughly. It had been so long since they had been able to touch each other, and they wanted to remember how good it felt to hold each other in their arms. As Fred washed Daphne's breasts, she reached down for his cock. She began to masturbate him until he climaxed on her stomach. Fred knew how lucky he was to have a girlfriend like Daphne and how hard it would be for them to be apart when they started college life soon. Then they heard someone trying to open the bathroom door, which startled them. Fred got in front of Daphne immediately, and she gripped his chest.

"Freddie," Daphne whispered, scared.

"Mom?" Fred asked. "Dad?"

Neither question had an answer, and they both felt terrified. Whoever was on the other side of the bathroom door tried to open it again. Daphne began to shake, and so did Fred.

"Freddie, what are we going to do?" Daphne asked, scared.

"I don't know," Fred replied, equally scared.

He looked through the shower curtain to see if there was anything they could use as a weapon, but nothing was helpful in the bathroom. He could have used his old baseball bat if they had been in his bedroom, but there was no way to access it.

"Oh, God!" Daphne said tearfully.

Fred wanted to cry but was determined he wouldn't go out that way. He turned around to face his girlfriend.

"Listen," he whispered. "We can't open the door, but we can put our clothes back on, and if the psycho outside manages to break through, we attack him because we're not going to go out scared, are we?"

Daphne didn't believe Fred could say anything to make her feel better, but she was happy to be proven wrong. They kept the shower running and, got out of the shower. Daphne put her clothes back on while Fred kept an eye on her. Once she put her clothes back on, Fred put on his. After that, Daphne and Fred stood in front of the door. They waited for ten minutes and heard no signs of movement.

"I don't think there's anyone there," Fred whispered.

"But there could be," Daphne whispered back.

"But we haven't heard anything,"

Without waiting for an argument, Fred unlocked the bathroom door and opened it a little. To his relief, there was no one there. He looked at Daphne quickly.

"Stay here and lock the door behind me," Fred whispered. "I'm going to my room to get my baseball bat, and then I'm going to look around the house. Don't come out until I say it's safe,"

Daphne thought that was a bad idea, and before she could even try to talk him out of it, Fred walked out. She locked the door and cried immediately because she thought this could be the last time she would see Fred. Minutes passed, and Daphne thought she was going to die. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"It's me," Fred said. "The house is clear,"

Daphne opened the door and pounded on Fred's chest out of relief and frustration.

"You bastard!" Daphne said tearfully. "How could you leave me like that? How could you risk your life like that? You could have been killed!"

Then she hugged him, crying, and Fred hugged her back.

"I'm sorry," Fred said comfortingly. "I just wanted to make sure we could both be safe and you could go home,"

Home was the last place Daphne wanted to go, but she could understand Fred's train of thought despite how hysterical she was.

"Did you see anyone?" Daphne asked, trying to calm down.

"No, I didn't," Fred admitted. "But I think it was the 'ghost' we saw the other night, but we're not going to let him win,"

Daphne found that confusing and became hysterical again.

"What do you mean we're not going to let him win?" she asked, confused.

"If he thinks he can scare us away from solving the mystery, he's got another thing coming!" Fred said, determined. "He's not going to scare us out of living life the way we want to!"

Daphne knew all about being unable to live life out of fear. She had lived with her parents for far too long, and Fred's determination rubbed on Daphne, and she was determined to solve the mystery, too. No matter what.

XXXXX

After what happened to them in the shower, Daphne and Fred brought Tasers. Shaggy and Velma thought that was a great idea and brought Tasers, too. Daphne and Fred discussed what happened to them in the bathroom. They decided it would be for the best if they didn't contact the police because if Mrs Blake discovered the actual circumstances behind the danger Daphne and Fred had been involved in, then it would make things worse for Daphne. The three of them knew they had to solve the mystery independently. Later that night, the gang didn't know what would be waiting for them in that house, but they knew being prepared would be a great idea. In addition to her Taser, Daphne also carried her camera case.

"Like, are the police going to be here tonight?" Shaggy asked.

"No," Fred said quickly. "All we have to do is solve this mystery on our own, and our town will be safe,"

"It's the best plan," Daphne added.

"Definitely," Velma agreed.

"Ri rope ro," Scooby-do said.

"So, let's go," Fred said urgently.

The four of them took out their Tasers and entered the house. Scooby walked with them, and he wished he could carry a Taser. Walking up the hallway, they saw the green glow again, but none of them were scared to run. When the ghost turned the corner into the hallway, Fred imagined he would be the one to Taser the "ghost", but it didn't turn out that way. Before he could even blink, he saw Daphne blast the "ghost" in the chest, and he fell right on his back.

"Take that, you sick bastard!" Daphne shouted.

"Daphne!" Fred, Velma, and Shaggy said in unison.

"Like wow!" Shaggy said, shocked. "Where did that come from?"

Fred and Velma knew where it came from, and they knew it would be for the best if they tried to get Daphne to come down as she reached for the mask on the "ghost".

"Let's see who you really are!" Daphne said triumphantly.

Before she took off the mask, Daphne had been expecting to see the Warden under it, but it wasn't. It was a man in his early fifties with brown hair and green eyes.

"Mr Kasem!" Daphne, Fred, Velma and Shaggy said in unison. "The man that runs the local movie theater!"

This shocked them, but they hadn't solved the mystery completely. They knew they had to understand why he made it look like the house was haunted. So, the five of them went further into the house, found the greenhouse and discovered what Mr Kasem was hiding. A greenhouse full of marijuana.

"This is why the house was made to look like it was haunted?" Fred asked. "I thought he made more than enough managing the local movie theater,"

"Not necessarily, Fred," Velma said. "The internet and streaming services have taken a lot away from local movie theaters. It's just the way it is,"

As Fred and Velma chatted, Daphne took out her camera from her camera case and began taking pictures. The police were going to need evidence, and Daphne wasn't going to sell them short.

XXXXX

It was hours later when the police came and arrested Mr Kasem. Naturally, the media were there, and the five couldn't have been more proud of themselves. They smiled for the cameras in front of the Mystery Machine. But when the police brought out Mr Kasem, Daphne lost her composure and ran to him.

"Why did you do it?" Daphne asked sharply. "Why did you scare us?"

"I scared you because you were too close to the truth," Mr Kasem replied. "I thought that would have been obvious,"

"Why did you break into my boyfriend's house this afternoon?" Daphne barked.

Mr Kasem looked at Daphne like she was crazy.

"I was at the movie theater all afternoon," Mr Kasem said. "I was nowhere near anyone's house. Ask my employees. They all saw me,"

Daphne hoped Mr Kasem would confess to breaking into Fred's house because she hated thinking about the alternative: the Warden was playing his sick game with her.

"I'm sorry," Daphne said, calming down, to Mr Kasem before turning her attention to the Detective leading him out. "I'm sorry,"

The Detective didn't say anything as he was too annoyed by her outbursts and walked Mr Kasem into a police car. Then Fred walked up to her.

"Daphne, what are you doing?" Fred asked anxiously.

Daphne looked at him, equally anxious.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I made a mistake,"

"Then get back over here," Fred replied. "They want to interview us on television,"

Daphne couldn't believe it, and she walked with Fred to the Mystery Machine, where a Female Reporter with light brown hair was waiting for them,"

"Hello," Daphne said politely.

"Hello," the Female Reporter replied. "Could you please join your friends?"

"Sure," Daphne replied.

Daphne walked over to the gang and stood beside Fred while Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo stood behind them.

"Good evening," the Female reporter said. "I'm reporting live with a group of young people that solved a mystery of a seemingly haunted house that proved to be even more frightening as it proved to be a drug warehouse. It was solved by Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Shaggy Rogers, and their dog Scooby-Doo. Now, the big question for our audience is, what do you call yourselves?"

None of them seemed to have any idea until Fred stepped forward.

"We call ourselves Mystery Inc.," Fred said proudly. "And we're willing to solve any mystery that comes our way,"

For once in her life, Daphne was enjoying the spotlight and had forgotten about her strict parents. From down the street in his car, the Warden watched what was happening, and he was angry that he couldn't break through Fred's bathroom when Daphne and Fred were alone together; what they were getting up to while he was alone made the Warden sick to his stomach.